***

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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: tsw05.txt

The Slayers: Wild
By Troy Thomas

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations 
and property of Rumiko Takahashi. Slayers and 
its characters are the creations and properties 
of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. Excepting 
flames, if you have any comments or criticisms, 
feel free to send them my way.

***

I can be found at the following addresses:
URL: 
http://ca.geocities.com/therealsilentnova/entra
nce.html
Email: Silentnova@go.com

***

Chapter Five

Ranma touched the old and tired looking 
stonewall. He slowly looked up to the wall's 
top, noticing small details, like how it seemed 
to almost want to fall, and the creeping vines, 
which were the glue keeping the wall in once 
piece. "So, we're here. It's pretty 
interesting, I guess." He jumped to the top, 
and looked into the empty, silent yard beyond. 
Looking down at his astonished companions, he 
asked, "What's up?"

"You are!" Lina shouted, sounding as though she 
was straining to be sure Ranma heard her. "We 
never knew anyone can jump that high! We can 
fly up there, but no one can do what you just 
did!"

Walking along the top of the wall, following 
his companions, who started to search for an 
entrance, Ranma felt as though he was being 
watched. He looked about, but saw nothing. Not 
even those he was with paid him little mind. 
'What an eerie place... There can be anything 
in there, I bet! And what about the way it 
feels?' He frowned, thinking, 'I hate this 
place. It's not right.'

Ranma noticed far below the creature named 
Errol stopping, and then attracting the 
attention of the girl Til. "What's up?" he 
asked Til, as Errol faced the wall.

Not answering, Ranma watched Til watch Errol 
raise its fists high into the air, and then 
bring them powerfully down onto the wall, which 
crumbled from the top down.

"Whoa!" Ranma cried out, falling freely towards 
the ground. After safely landing on his head, 
he then stood up and looked at Errol. "What'd 
you do that for?" he growled.

The creature didn't even bother to look at 
Ranma, walking forward, moving everything in 
its way out of the way, creating a path into 
the courtyard.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Lina asked, 
walking after Errol. She looked around, 
admiring the castle's yard, and then turned to 
look at the group. "I'll take it!"

"You can have it," said Ranma. "I don't like 
this place. There's a bad feeling." He walked 
past Lina, and then saw something in the corner 
of his eye. Turning, he saw the faintest trace 
of a shadow disappearing behind a stone wall. 
His heart rate slowly increased. "Over there," 
he said, pointing.

"Well, let's go then," Lina said, her voice 
cheerful.

Til walked to Lina, and asked, "How can you be 
so carefree at a time like this? Aren't you 
worried?"

"Who said I'm carefree? And I am worried. But 
I'm not going to show it," answered Lina. 
"Because if I do that, then I'm halfway to 
losing. And I never lose."

Ranma stepped ahead of the group, taking the 
lead. "There." The shadow was already gone. 
Running to where the shadow had gone, he 
quickly glanced behind the wall he had last 
seen it disappear behind, and saw nothing.

There was ceiling above him, he slowly noticed. 
"We're inside?"

"Maybe this would be a good time to make sure 
we're not caught off guard..." Lina said, 
drawing her sword. "Hey Til, you stick close to 
Ranma. If we're in big trouble, then he can get 
you out while we cover our escape."

"Errol will protect me too," said Til, 
gesturing to the creature, which loomed behind 
her, taking up the whole space of the hallway.

"Ah, Errol. Think you can look less 
inconspicuous?" Lina asked.

Errol shifted its weight, bringing its 
shoulders into a hunch.

"Trying like hell, I see," Lina said, turning 
back around. "Let's go then!"

'Corners... What are we following?' Ranma 
wondered. 'Where are we following it to?' he 
asked himself, as he approached an end to one 
hall, and the beginning of another. He suddenly 
stopped, as he turned the corner. "There's 
something at the end."

"Lina Inverse! You have come! Now, we fight!" 
shouted Gerim.

"Where's the kid?" Lina asked, walking past 
Ranma, her sword prepared.

"You win, child is free! You lose, you, 
friends, child, all will die!" Gerim began to 
laugh, his voice sounding deep and well oiled. 
"Inverse, you will lose! So do not worry about 
child!"

Ranma moved towards Lina, but there was a 
click, and the floor underneath collapsed. 
"What?" he asked, as he looked at the surprised 
face of Lina, which was pulled further and 
further away as he fell into...

***

"No! Damn I hate those stupid traps!" Lina 
turned around, facing Gerim. "I know what 
you're gonna say, so don't bother, cause I'll 
say it for you!" Her voice took on an accent, 
sounding similar to Gerim's, "Now Lina Inverse, 
we are alone!"

Laughing, Gerim shouted, "You will follow! Do 
not fall behind!"

The figure at the hall's end suddenly took 
flight.

"I have to run?" Lina asked. "Now I'm really 
mad!"

The end of the hallway was approached, and Lina 
turned right. The figure of Gerim was still far 
away, but closer.

Still running, she broke left, down a 
staircase, which led to an empty open air 
arena.

"Inverse! How can I kill you honourably if 
you're already half dead from one little run?" 
Gerim asked, standing dramatically on a giant 
pillar.

Catching her breath, Lina forced out, "You're 
becoming a real pain!" Leaning on her sword, 
she then gasped, "Just give me one minute..."

"One," said Gerim.

***

"Hell," said Ranma. "This is Hell. There's no 
mistaking it." He hesitantly traced his finger 
along the wall, which was constructed of 
skulls.

Empty sockets stared out at him, as though 
wondering why he was there, disturbing the 
sleep.

"Ranma, where are the others?" Til asked.

Ranma brought his hand back from the skull, 
which had once been a head, with a face and 
features unmistakable from the other thousands 
also lining the wall.

"Who knows? Somewhere else, I guess. I don't 
think that trap had only one exit." Ranma 
turned and looked at Til. "I think we should 
find our way out of here."

"Fear."

It was a definitely a voice, but it wasn't 
human.

"Ranma, let's go," Til said, her voice worried.

"Yeah, that's a pretty good idea," said Ranma. 
He looked at the walls, and felt, oddly, a 
coldness coming from the skulls.

"Where does the human soul reside? Some 
cultures believe the soul resides in the head."

The cold off the skulls wrapped itself around 
Ranma. "No way..." he said.

The sockets glowed slightly.

"Other people believe the heart."

The glow died down.

Ranma looked to Til. "We can't stay here! 
There's something really bad here!"

The two followed the only hallway from the 
original position, only to find a room 
containing fully constructed skeletons.

Ranma looked to his right. 'Did that one just 
look away?' he wondered.

"I am a collector."

A hand, once filled with life... reaching for 
his shoulder, wanting to take...

"No!" Ranma turned around, but only to see a 
shaking skeleton, as though just bumped. "Let's 
go!"

>From the room to another hallway.

"Humans are so very interesting."

The hallway was surrounded again by skulls. The 
skulls each stared downed on the visitors, as 
though envying, resenting, pleading, and 
hoping.

"Please, come to me. Find me at the tunnel's 
end."

"I think that's the last place we want to be," 
said Ranma, after realising there was no else 
to go. "You okay?" he asked Til, who was white, 
shaking in fear.

"That voice... Father said that there is only 
one voice like that in the whole world!" Til 
grabbed Ranma's sleeve, holding him back, as he 
struggled to move forward. "Once, there was a 
sorcerer who challenged a beast... The beast 
was immortal and all powerful, but naive, so it 
allowed the man to live. By forging a staff, 
the man stole the beast's power, and cast the 
beast aside. He then created four creatures of 
vast knowledge and power, which would be loyal 
to him, forever."

"And what? This voice belongs to the man?" The 
look on Til's face immediately answered Ranma's 
question. "So, this voice is one of his 
creatures? Which one?"

"Their master didn't give them names, but over 
time, the legends... I think it's Sol in the 
next room." Til's grip on Ranma's sleeve 
weakened, so Ranma pulled away. "Please, don't 
go."

"There's no choice, miss. I gotta. You can stay 
here so you don't get hurt, if you want. But if 
I stay here, I'll never..." Ranma thought, 
'I'll never know what I can do again.'

Leaving the girl behind, Ranma entered a room, 
gigantic and horrific. Dried blood covered the 
walls like paint. The floor was clean and 
white, as though made from bone. There was also 
a ceiling, but it was so far above Ranma 
couldn't make out any details.

"Humans, you are truly beautiful," said the 
creature named Sol.

Ranma stared at Sol, a creature he had seen 
somewhere before, perhaps in an anime or manga. 
'Isn't called an angel?' However, it, the 
creature, had nothing angelic nor pure about 
it, with its wings broken, its eyes lifeless, 
and its teeth sharp, its fingers claw-like.

Without moving its lips, it spoke, "I am the 
first, and the most loved. I am called Sol by 
those who fear and reject my master, and 
protector by those who obediently serve."

The four arms of Sol were raised, each holding 
long, slender swords.

"Then what am I?" Ranma wondered, clenching his 
fists, preparing his feet for flight. "I don't 
know your master, and I don't serve no one. 
Does that mean I have to call you Sol?"

Without answering, the creature named Sol 
started gliding towards him. Only too late did 
Ranma realise the creature's awesome speed was 
misleading.

***

"No brains, but he packs a punch!" Lina said, 
as she took a break from the battle. 'A break? 
Don't you really mean she's hiding from the 
battle?' an inward voice questioned. "Who asked 
you?" she growled to herself.

After peeking a look over the rubble she was 
hiding behind, she saw Gerim ready to throw a 
terrible looking fireball. 'I'm not hiding!' 
she thought, vehemently.

Nervously swallowing, she slid back down. 'How 
can someone so dumb have so much magical 
knowledge?' she wondered. 'He's just so strong! 
But really, if I think about this, then I can 
beat him!'

"Fireball!" Gerim's voice tore the air apart.

Jumping from her hiding spot, Lina was blasted 
forward by a gigantic blast, telling her the 
Fireball wasn't just terrible but also 
powerful.

"Whoa!" Landing, Lina stood up, and hid a hand 
behind her back.

***

As he somersaulted forwards, avoiding three of 
Sol's swords, which impaled the floor and 
knocked down a wall, Ranma barely noticed the 
fourth coming in at his neck, ready to relieve 
him of his burdensome and near useless head.

He grimaced, after avoiding the sword by 
falling backwards. Looking down at his hand, 
which had just covered his chest, he noticed 
blood. "I'm cut?"

"Human, please in death answer my question. 
Where do you go?" said Sol, as it raised all 
four swords. "I've always wanted to know. Is it 
beautiful, the land you shall find beyond 
life?"

After the creature started bringing down the 
four swords at once, Ranma twisted and turned 
so he was only mortally cut a few times.

"Beautiful! Where did such determination to 
live come from?"

The floor around Ranma exploded, as Sol ripped 
his swords out of the bone.

Despite his injuries, Ranma scrambled far away 
from Sol, crouching near the wall. 'I won't be 
able to avoid those swords for very long!' he 
thought. 'So I've gotta take 'em away!' 
Standing, he determinedly waited for Sol to 
attack.

"You've dodged my attacks, like air flowing 
past my blades. Human, you deserve to die 
named." Ready to move at any moment, Sol asked, 
"What is your name, human? I must know."

"I am Ranma Saotome, and I won't just dodge 
your swords now, I'll knock 'em out of your 
hands!"

Sol burst forward, all swords in front.

'Gotta remember! He ain't no turtle!' Ranma 
waited less than a second, and then put into 
his hands his confidence. "Moko Takabishi!" he 
cried out, as a huge ball of energy erupted 
from his hands.

Two seconds shattered in the resulting 
explosion, which also blew Ranma back into the 
wall.

***

"What do you hold behind your back, Inverse?" 
asked Gerim, tossing aside the fireball.

"What am I holding? Do you really think I'd 
tell you?" Lina responded, sounding horrified. 
"I mean, come on! Why should I tell you what 
I'm holding when it's the only thing keeping 
you from attacking me?"

"You must tell!" Gerim stormed forward, but was 
stopped seeing Lina raise her hand in a stop 
gesture.

"Uh, uh! No peeking, Mister No Brains!" said 
Lina. "You wouldn't actually want to find out 
what I have, would you? I mean, I could have 
almost anything back here!"

"What do you have?" bellowed Gerim.

Lina shrewdly smiled. There was no longer 
nothing behind her back.

***

"Ha, ha!" Sol's face flickered, and then he had 
a mouth. "My swords! You've proven yourself 
incredible!" The creature raised its sword-less 
hands for Ranma to see. "See your reward for 
your bravery!"

"Mouths?" Ranma asked, seeing the creature's 
palms. "But I don't get it!" He unsteadily 
tried to stand up. "What's so special about 
those? They let you eat faster or something?"

The creature faintly smiled, as though enjoying 
Ranma's words. "When I speak, listen. You will 
then understand."

'Three voices... I hear three of him talking!' 
Ranma thought. 'But what's the point of that? 
Unless the trick is talking three times at 
once... Lets him talk faster... And magic...'

Sol's wings extended out, and the creature 
floated into the air. The swords it still had 
started to glow.

"Damn!" Ranma dredged from his very soul the 
strength to use his last technique, the one 
move he felt in the end could defeat all his 
opponents. "Well, Sol. You're making me use 
this, even though I don't really want to!" He 
confidently smiled. "Do I have your attention?"

"Yes, Ranma Saotome. My attention is yours. 
Please, show me your last resort."

The ceiling above began to cave in.

'Can't get distracted by that...' Ranma looked 
up. 'Did I just hear Lina? She was shouting... 
What'd she say? Slave?' He shouted at Sol, "You 
wanted to see it, Sol! It's the Saotome 
School's most dangerous technique!" Readying 
his feet, placing much of his weight in his 
front foot, Ranma indomitably leaned at Sol. 
"Are you ready?"

"Ha, ha!" Sol crossed his two sword-less arms, 
and brought his armed arms into a relaxed 
position. "Use your power!"

Ranma hastily thought, 'Damn it, Til! I don't 
want to be a hero! Get your butt out here!' He 
waited... He couldn't use it too early, else 
the technique would be seen. The timing had to 
be absolutely perfect.

The ceiling continued to fall, yet Ranma stood 
absolutely still, ready at any moment to 
uncoil, and then spring into the move.

Til ran out from the mouth of the hallway, 
followed by a cloud of white dust.

"Saotome Secret Technique!" Ranma shouted, 
running towards Til, who was running towards 
another hallway.

Behing him, he could the creature beginning to 
laugh. 'Hope you find it real funny!' he 
thought, bitterly remembering what was under 
him.

***

"So, Gourry, Zel, and... Errol are missing..." 
Lina looked a little annoyed, crossing her 
arms. "They disappeared after falling into the 
pit, and we haven't seen them since."

"They must be somewhere in the castle, but 
we've searched everywhere!" said Til. "Maybe 
you can only get there if you fall into that 
pit, and fall out at the right end."

"That's a pretty good idea, Til! I'm really 
surprised!" Lina smiled, her expression 
confident. "Because now that's two good ideas I 
didn't think of first!" She looked at Ranma. 
"What's the matter?"

"Huh?" asked Ranma. "Oh. Nothing."

"Right." Lina turned around. "We should 
probably find Gourry and the others now. And I 
have a funny feeling that if we find them, 
we'll find that kid." She frowned, as she said, 
"We'll probably also find Gerim and Sol too. 
But I guess if you want results, you have to 
get a little dirty!"

Ranma and Til, after processing Lina's 
statement, which had been punctuated by an 
action pose, both shrugged.

"And knock a few heads around, right?" asked 
Ranma following Lina.

End Chapter Five

***

Reference Links: http://www.furinkan.com/
http://www.techserv.curtin.edu.au/ranmascan/ind
ex.html
http://www.inverse.org/



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